Barcelona International Airport

Barcelona International Airport is one of Spain’s busiest and situated at nearby El Prat de Llobregat, a stone’s throw from the throbbing tourist magnet of the centrally located city centre’s Las Ramblas.

In 2007, passengers passing through Barcelona El Prat totalled nearly thirty three million. Business and leisure travellers are expected to exceed this figure in 2008.

Passengers travelling to and from Barcelona and Madrid airports account for a large proportion of flying activity (nearly a thousand flights a week). The air shuttle called the Puente Aereo which travels between the two airports is considered the world’s most busy flight route.

Visitors to Barcelona El Prat Airport couldn’t be better positioned to get to the city centre. From landing on the tarmac, you could be bargain hunting in the heart of Barcelona’s colourful city centre within the hour. There is no hanging about when you arrive at Barcelona’s airport either. Buses, outside the Arrivals Hall, eagerly await their passengers, engines a-humming, primed and ready to despatch you safely into Placa Catalunya, post haste.

Popular low cost airline EasyJet fly to Barcelona Airport from a variety of UK locations. Among these airports include London-Stansted, London-Gatwick, East Midlands, Liverpool, Newcastle, Belfast, Bristol and London-Luton. Additionally they fly passengers to Barcelona out of Paris-Orly, Lyon, Berlin-Schonefeld, Milan-Malpensa and Dortmund airports.

Barcelona El Prat Airport is situated 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from the city centre. There are a number of ways to travel from the airport to your destination within the city, the most popular ones I have noted.

Passengers are able to travel to and from Barcelona El Prat Airport by rail. The Metro itself does not run from the airport. The Renfe train runs every thirty minutes to Estacio de Franca on the R10 line is a popular choice providing access to the Barcelona Sants railway station for the Barcelona Metro.

The Entitad Metropolitana del Transporte airbus service runs to and from Placa Catalunya. The bus stop for this service is located outside of all three terminals, A, B and C. Enthusiastically delivering its passengers into the heart of Barcelona, this is the best value for money mode of transport to and from the airport you will find. For a single ticket the price is about 4 euros. Ensure, if you require subway L1 and L3 lines, you will need to disembark at the Placa d’Espanya.

If travelling by car to Barcelona Airport from the Castelldefels or Sitges direction, there is the C-32 looking out for the Aeroport-Aeropuerto Exit onto the access B22 road. Allow up to half an hour for this journey. The major transport interchange here is accessed via the highway C-32B which connects up the Ronda de Dalt and many other main roadways.

Taxis are available close to the exits of all terminals and are available day and night. Expect to pay around 25 euros (plus a cost per bag) for a 20 minute ride into the centre of Barcelona.